Original beach racers make breakfast memorable

Monday

Apr 1, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Last week I gave you all the highlights and photos from the 72nd annual Daytona Beach Bike Week. The bike shows, the entertainment, the local venues and of course Main Street are all icons for the event. But there is one event that really isn't well known but has to be one of the best events that takes place the entire week, and that's the Over the Hill Gang Breakfast.

Donna Kessler

Last week I gave you all the highlights and photos from the 72nd annual Daytona Beach Bike Week. The bike shows, the entertainment, the local venues and of course Main Street are all icons for the event. But there is one event that really isn't well known but has to be one of the best events that takes place the entire week, and that's the Over the Hill Gang Breakfast.

Back in the yesteryear of Daytona, there were the beach racers who challenged the hard sand of Daytona Beach. These brave racers gave birth to the Daytona 200, a race that is still run today at the Daytona International Speedway. Every Bike Week, on Thursday at the Port Orange Elks Club, the original beach racers reunite to share food and stories. They are also the sponsors of the Daytona 200 Monument that is erected on Daytona Beach. The breakfast has to be one of the best experiences, being among these legendary folks. Dick Klamfoth, Tom McDermott and Eddie Fisher were a few of the famous racers in attendance.

Along with the great breakfast, there are speakers who tell stories of the days of racing on the beach. This year's noted speaker was Paul Goldsmith. Goldsmith, 86, flew into Daytona in his Cessna from Chicago. Along with racing, flying is another passion of Goldsmith's.

Goldsmith began racing motorcycles as a teenager right after the conclusion of World War II. Goldsmith took the podium and told the packed room of the trials and tribulations of racing on the beach, particularly dealing with the high and low tides and the effect the gasoline ration during World War II had on racing motorcycles, since only two gallons of gas were allowed a week.

Among his many victories, the most famous was his winning the final race at the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1958 and finishing in the top five twice at the Indianapolis 500, a fifth-place finish in 1959 and a third-place finish in 1960. More importantly, Goldmsith was the only person to ever win the Daytona Beach Road course both in stock car and on a motorcycle.

Goldsmith became emotional, at one point talking about his early years of racing and the memories that resurfaced. After retiring in 1969, Goldsmith devoted his time to business ventures including a fast-food restaurant and an aviation repair business and even owning a pair of thoroughbred horse ranches (Goldsmith also had a sulky license). Never slowing down, today Goldsmith keeps busy with his flying school.

One by one, the original racers who were present took the microphone and shared their memories. I looked down briefly to realize that my breakfast had become cold. I just couldn't break away from listening to them to even eat my breakfast.

Unfortunately, a club that had around 125 original beach racers now has about 25 remaining. They are disappearing and with them their stories, only to be captured by the media and authors before they are gone with the very men who lived them. I made sure to buy a Daytona 200 Monument hat and have a couple of the guys autograph it for me, including Goldsmith.

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Honoring the beach racers is a monument on Daytona Beach, right in front of the Hilton. It's a granite structure with the names of all the racers forever engraved in the slabs. It's a must-see.

You can be a part of this monument by purchasing a brick or paver. The 4-by-8-inch bricks are $50. For more information, visit daytona200monument.com. Forms are also available by emailing dkessler@th-record.com.